Overstay
by DavyDrake
Summary: Frisk doesn't want to leave the Ruins, so... He doesn't. Three years later, the information that there's a human in the Ruins leaks, and Frisk and Toriel must leave.
1. Do I Have To Go?

_A/N: Gonna keep this brief, but contrary to my other UT fanfic, Frisk is male in this, and he starts out nine years old (though by the end of this chapter, which is kinda like a prologue, he is twelve). Uh, happy reading!_

The fireballs just kept coming no matter what he said to try and stop her. He'd never been good with words anyways. Toriel's eyes brimmed with tears, yet her face was still hard, still trying to hide what she felt.

Frisk was going to cry too. It hurt. She'd hurt him. The fire may not have set him alight, but it burned. He wanted it to stop. Her attacks were harder to dodge than any monster he'd encountered so far, and he could make it stop so easily. He just had to… Had to fight… Had to fight… T-Tori--

He couldn't. He couldn't hurt her. She was the nicest being he'd ever encountered. Her motherly compassion knew no bounds. Even this. Even this. She did even this out of love for him. He had died to her once and seen the horror on her face. She truly didn't want to hurt him. But didn't she understand he had to…

Had to what?

Did he really have to move on?

Toriel… He loved Toriel. She was kind. She was caring. What was waiting for him beyond the Ruins anyways? Monsters who wanted to kill him, apparently. Pain. And after that? Nothing. Toriel was the first person who had loved him in a long, long time.

Now that he thought. Now that he really thought. The choice was simple. Barely a choice at all.

"Fight me or run away!" Toriel cried again. Frisk… Did not oblige her. He ran forward with intent. But not to fight.

To hug.

"Knock knock," Toriel said, punctuating each word with the physical action. With her other hand, she held tightly onto Frisk's, completely elated.

"Who's there?"

"Momma."

"Momma who?"

"Me! I have a son!"

"Uh…?" The voice on the other side of the door was understandably confused. Even with Frisk's limited knowledge of reproduction, he knew it took two people and more than a couple days to produce a child. Toriel simply giggled.

"My child! Introduce yourself," she urged gently, smiling down at Frisk.

Frisk froze. He hated talking. Words never quite put themselves together properly in his head and he always ended up spouting embarrassing nonsense when he talked for too long. He preferred to use sign language, but that wouldn't work too well through the door. "Ummm… Uh… Hi. I'm… Uh…" Shoot. He forgot his name for a second. "Frisk." There it was.

"Uh… Heya… Kid?" the guy said, intensely confused. "So uh… How…?"

"A child fell down!" Toriel exclaimed, squealing a little in excitement. "And he's going to stay here! And be my son!"

Silence.

"A… A human?"

"Yes! Isn't it wonderful? Oh, he's so beautiful…" Frisk's face grew hot, but he smiled at his mom as she went on and on about him. Gosh, he'd never had a mom. Nobody who'd go on and on about him. Nobody'd ever done that. "I wish you could see him."

"Uh… Yeah…" Frisk wished he knew what this guy's face looked like, because his voice and words didn't betray much. "So, little dude," the guy said, addressing Frisk now. "How're ya liking the Underground? I know it's not mulch but itsoil we got." He winked audibly.

Frisk giggled. He liked this guy. He was funny. Funny people were nice. "It's… Nice." Frisk hoped his tone of voice said something better because he hadn't quite said the words he meant to. He had understated his enjoyment of the Underground.

"Good to hear." The guy chuckled good naturedly. "And it's good to hear you're not alone in there anymore, lady." Frisk didn't think that was a very nice way of addressing a woman--it just seemed kind of blunt--but Toriel had told him earlier that this guy didn't know her name, and she didn't know his. He wasn't sure why people who knew each other for a long time wouldn't exchanged names, but there were a lot of things Frisk wasn't sure about, so he left it alone.

"Aw, I haven't been alone in here since you started coming to the door," Toriel said. "Anyways, I just wanted to share this with you. Is it okay if I bid you farewell? I must settle Frisk in."

"'Course. Hear ya tomorrow at the usual time?"

"Absolutely."

That night, Frisk slept comfortably. He wasn't afraid of the dark in Toriel's house. For whatever reason, the simple knowledge of his knew mother sleeping just down the hall was enough to keep him at peace. Maybe it had something to do with her totally awesome fire powers.

He didn't have any dreams, and he found that unbelievably peaceful. No nightmares. No anything. Just warm blankets and sleep.

He woke up and actually looked forward to the day for once. It was, in short, the best feeling in the world to him.

Frisk learned to be friends with the Froggits and Whimsums and Loox and Moldsmals and Vegetoids and uh… That weird dancing rabbit one that kind of made him a little uncomfortable. They didn't seem so scared of him anymore, so he could interact with them in peace. He grew to be fairly close to Napstablook too. The ghost seemed most comfortable just lying around in silence, and Frisk was okay with that. And sometimes, they brought some of their own music. It was pretty simple, but Frisk didn't dislike it. He hope their career worked out for them.

Toriel frequently brought him with her when they went to talk to the guy on the other side of the door, and Frisk became friends with him too.

Life was good for him.

And then over time…

It wasn't.


	2. Bored and People Bored

Three years later

"Oh……….. Hey……….. Uh……….." Napstablook greeted Frisk from their post on the ground in a pile of deep red leaves. Their eyes widened slightly. They weren't usually "happy" per say, but Frisk thought maybe the ghost enjoyed just having someone to do nothing with, so they might've been some semblance of glad to see him.

"Howdy," Frisk said. He all but fell on the ground somewhat dejectedly to join his friend. "Blooky, can I tell you a secret?"

"Ummmm………. Uh……….. I……… Think so?"

"Promise not to tell?"

"...Yeah."

Frisk took a deep breath, staring at the purple ceiling. He didn't like complaining. He didn't really deserve anything he had, so he didn't really have a right to gripe about what he didn't have. However, he'd been feeling for some time now that he had to get this off his chest. And since Napstablook rarely said anything, let alone to Goat Mom… They seemed like the perfect option.

"So you know how I'm a human?" Frisk started. Ah, he hated talking. "I… I didn't originally want to stay down here. But Goat Mom… I never had a mom like Toriel. I mean sure I had a mom. Everybody has a mom at some point." Wait, did ghosts have moms…? Frisk regretted mentioning it. "But my other mom was, like…" He signed several words in an attempt to pick a good one and settled on the fact that he wasn't going to find a good one. "Not a real mom. Goat Mom cares. Other mom didn't. And then there's you and the guy on the other side of the door. I'm loved down here. I'm not loved on the surface. So… So I stayed. But lately I've been feeling kinda… Suffocated." He was proud of himself for that one. Good word. "There's… Not much going on here. It's small. I don't know how Goat Mom does it. It's like, I feel like I've run out of stuff to do. I'm…" This word was there, right on the type of his tongue, but he hesitated to say it. "Bored." There. He said it. He complained. He got it off his chest.

Napstablook was silent. "I….. Get that way……. A lot actually……" they said after a moment.

"Really?" Frisk had been under the impression (heh. Under. Door guy would've laughed) that the rest of the Underground was fairly expansive, and he knew Napstablook could access the rest of it, being able to go through walls and stuff.

"But I get more……… People bored…….." Napstablook paused thoughtfully. Frisk knew that silence. Looking for a word.

"You mean lonely?"

"Yeah…….. I used to live with my cousin sort of, but……….. He left a while ago……….. And I don't like people very much but………… It's nice every once in a while to see someone."

"Aw, Blooky," Frisk said sympathetically. "You always have me and Goat Mom, okay?"

"Thank you………. Frisk…….." Napstablook said, their voice notably warmer than usual. "If there's anything I can do…………"

"You already did it for me." Frisk stood and smiled. "Thanks for listening, Blooky." The little ghost's cheeks glowed slightly gray as he smiled back.

How could he leave a place where he could smile and get smiles back in return?

Frisk woke up feeling suffocated.

He hadn't had any nightmares but it didn't keep him from wanting to scream. Why? Why couldn't he be happy?

He lay still for a moment, certain he would cry. The tears didn't come. When he was positive he wasn't going to randomly burst out sobbing, he slid out of bed and crossed over to the door, managing to put a spring in his step by thinking of what kind of breakfast Goat Mom would make.

"Howdy!" Frisk said as he stepped into the living room. Toriel was sitting in her rocking chair as usual, skimming a large hardcover book.

"Good morning, my child," she said brightly, closing her book. "I was just about to make breakfast. How about cinnamon waffles?"

"Sounds AMAZING," Frisk exclaimed. See? Down here there were cinnamon waffles. Nobody would make those for him on the surface.

Toriel got out of her chair and moved towards the kitchen, then… Paused. Suspiciously. Frisk felt himself sweat subconsciously. He wasn't quite sure what he'd done, but he didn't want to upset Goat Mom. Whatever he did, he was already very sorry.

"Are you…" Toriel began. "Okay, my child? You have seemed… Tired, lately."

Frisk felt his sins crawling on his back as he lied to Goat Mom. "Of course! I'm fine, just been up reading a little later than I should be."

Toriel made a clicking noise with her tongue. "Do not wear yourself out, Frisk. I love you too much to see you so tired." She smiled warmly and continued into the kitchen. Frisk followed, still feeling guilty. There were twelve year old boys that fibbed to their mothers about much worse than being upset, he assured himself. It didn't help.

As Toriel began shuffling through the cupboards for waffle ingredients, she kept up a steady stream of conversation. "Are you coming with me to chat with our friend on the other side of the door after you eat?"

"Mhm," Frisk hummed, leaning against the wall. That would be a good distraction. Sometimes the three of them--Frisk mostly listening--would talk for hours. Definitely would keep him occupied.

The waffles were amazing. Frisk and Goat Mom didn't talk much as they ate, but thankfully, the silence was not an uncomfortable one. Toriel had already moved on, and Frisk would prefer to as well, but… well, it was a problem that originated in his own head; it was a bit hard to just move on.

Afterwards the two of them descended the stairs and trekked down the long hall leading to the door, the one and only exit to the Ruins. Once or twice Frisk had caught himself simply staring at it and wondering if it would really be all that bad if he just sort of… Left. No way on earth would he really do that, though. Leaving was one thing, but without saying goodbye? Never.

Toriel knocked twice, punctuating each action with the word. "Knock knock."

"Who's there?" Toriel's face became even brighter when the voice responded.

"A broken pencil."

"A broken pencil who?" The guy was chuckling lightly already, either in knowing the punchline or anticipation. He sounded kind of… Subdued though.

"Never mind, it's pointless!"

And the two of them just howled with laughter. But Frisk, ever observant, noticed something. The guy stopped laughing before Toriel did, faster than usual. Probably not an important fact. Hopefully the guy wasn't upset or anything.

He was.

"Heh, that was hilarious. But uh… Lady, is the kid here? Because… We got a problem."


	3. Invited to Rejoin Society

_A/N: Howdy! Before I start, I just want to thank you guys for the positive reviews (even though there's just a few of them). It's kind of a weird thing to say, but it means a lot to me. Anyways, happy reading!_

"But uh… Lady, is the kid here? Because… We got a problem."

Toriel froze. "Yes… Frisk is here." She looked down at him, concerned. "What is the matter?"

"So, we have these meetings in Snowdin every once in awhile to make sure everything's go okay and King Asgore always comes if he's not busy. Somebody..." He sounded reluctant to finish his sentence. What exactly could be so bad about this meeting, Frisk didn't know, but they sensed the dread in the guy's voice. "Somebody told him that there was a human living in the Ruins."

"No," Toriel whispered, clutching a wad of her dress tightly in her furry hand. She reached for Frisk's hand as if to reassure herself that he was still there. "I will fight if I have to. They will not take my son away from me."

"Hey, take it easy," the guy on the other side of the door said calmly. "No one's taking the kid away. You've been... Uh, how did he want me to word it again? Right. 'Warmly invited to rejoin society, and bring the human with you.' He also said to promise you that Frisk won't be hurt."

"What on earth is that fuzz ball up too?"

"Your Majesty?"

Toriel's expression seemed sort of pained as she stared at the floor. "Oh, please don't call me that. I really preferred it when you didn't know who I am..."

"Then uh... Toriel?"

"Yes?"

"I like to think I'm pretty observant, and I... Well it didn't seem like Asgore has anything up his sleeve with this. Seems like he just wants you to come back."

"That's exactly what I'm concerned about. I do not hate the Underground. I hate Asgore, and I'm never going back to him."

"To be fair, he didn't ask you to come back to the castle. I think he just doesn't want you and the kid to be cooped up in there."

There was silence for a while. Toriel stared at her feet, looking unsure. "My child..." she whispered, looking to Frisk. "What... What do you think?"

Oh, Frisk wanted to be free. He'd poked around every corner, every nook, and every cranny of the Ruins. Every day he woke up and felt trapped, bored... Sad. But then he saw his mother's face, and he knew there was no way he could leave. She loved him, and she wanted the best for him, so it was with great thought that Frisk said honestly and earnestly, "Whatever makes you smile."

Toriel's expression melted into one right then, gentle and sad. "You make me smile." She turned back to the door. "Meet me here again tomorrow. We will come through, but we need to pack first."

"The King will be happy to hear that," the voice on the other side of the door said, and though he was pretty good at sounding neutral, this time his gladness could be clearly heard. "And hey, I'll get to see you in person. I'm sure I'll a _door_ you."

The three of them shared a warm laugh at his pun.

"Well, see ya tomorrow. I guess I'll be off."

"Goodbye, friend," Toriel said, smiling.

"Goodbye, Toriel."

"I just don't know how anyone could've found out," Toriel fussed as she hurried around Frisk's room, gathering up and packing neatly into an old suitcase anything she thought her son might need. It seemed to Frisk like Goat Mom was possibly having second thoughts. He wanted to do whatever made her happy, but he secretly hoped she wouldn't change her mind on this.

"Dunno," Frisk said, fidgeting with the hem of his sweater as he sat cross legged on his bed. He realized tonight would probably be the last night he slept on it, and it made him happy and sad at the same time.

"I mean, the only one who is able to come in and out of here without passing by me is Napstablook."

"Blooky wouldn't tell," Frisk said without giving it any further thought.

"Well, I suppose they don't really seem like one to raise trouble," Goat Mom mused, stuffing in one last folded sweater and zipping up the suitcase. "You should sleep now, my child."

"'M'kay," Frisk said, climbing off the bed to slide down the covers. He climbed into it's warmth for the last time.

"Goodnight, Frisk," Toriel said, smoothing down Frisk's hair before kissing his forehead. She crossed the room and turned out the light. "Sleep tight!"

Frisk did not sleep tight. He was awoken an hour or two into his slumber by a small voice going, "Pssst. Pssst. Friiiii~iiisk. Wake up you little brat."

He bolted upright in bed, breathing heavily. He couldn't see anything--he reached over and swiftly turned on his lamp.

A small flower had popped it's head and stem through a little crack in the floorboards, and this flower had a face.

"F-Flowey?" Frisk stammered.

"Howdy!" The flower winked brightly. "Long time no see, huh? I just thought I'd drop by considering you'll be leaving so soon."

"Please go away," Frisk pleaded. "Don't want any trouble."

"Me? Cause trouble? Never." Flowey's face was twisted and fanged now, a face that had given Frisk nightmares in his first few months living here. However, the flower's face soon shifted back to its usual cheerful false innocence. "I just wanted to say goodbye! And ask you what in the world you think you've been doing for the last few years. You think you're going to change something this way? That somehow your ending will be different? That you'll learn something new? Sure, you weirdo. Enjoy your new show."

"W-wait, what--?" Frisk began, but Flowey only winked again and ducked back down through the crack, leaving Frisk alone to ponder what any of that had meant.

He looked around as if to make sure there were no suspicious flowers lingering anywhere, and then laid his head back down on his pillow, falling back into an uneasy sleep.

When he woke the next morning, he had slept off the memory of Flowey's visit, and he was excited. He couldn't remember the last time he woke up excited, and it was thrilling.

"Good morning, my child!" Toriel greeted, rushing down the hall with an armload of books. "Just doing some final packing. I cannot leave my favorite books behind, though I'm sure I will be back here from time to time. What do you want for breakfast? Scrambled eggs?"

"Mhm!" Frisk nodded rapidly and followed Goat Mom down the hall. He sat down at the table in the living room, fidgeting excitedly.

"We will meet our friend at the door as soon as we are done eating," Toriel told him from the kitchen. Frisk folded his hands on the table in an attempt to be patient.

Fifteen minutes later, Goat Mom placed down two plates of eggs with an unfortunate amount of sautéed snails mixed in for flavor. She handed him a fork and the two ate together. "Thank you," Frisk said when he had finished eating.

"Of course, my child!" Toriel said brightly.

"For agreeing to leave the Ruins, too."

"Frisk, your happiness means everything to me. If you are happy, then I am happy, and I know you have felt trapped down here for quite some time. Now, I am going to wash the dishes. It will only take me a minute."

Within ten minutes, the two of them faced to door.

"Knock knock."

"Hold on hold on, I got one for you," the guy interrupted. "Knock knock."

"Who's there?"

"Candice."

"Candice who?"

"Candice door open, or what?" Frisk thought that one was a bit of a stretch, but Toriel and the guy laughed their heads off.

"Well, time to find out!" Toriel said as the laughter died on. With a deep breath, she leaned forward and pushed the door open.


	4. Homely

"Oh," Toriel choked, a little surprised. "I would've never guessed you were a skeleton."

"Heh, yeah... Guess you could say there's a skele- _ton_ of me to love. Name's Sans." Sans winked comedically.

Toriel gave an un-adult-like squeal of delight, and seemingly unable to help herself, literally picked him up and spun him around. It wouldn't've been hard--Sans was only an inch or two taller than Frisk and he was only made of bones. He let out a little yell of surprise, then seemed to submit to Toriel's Toriel-ness until he was put down. Frisk noticed he seemed to be a little blue in the face--was that his version of blushing?

"Uh, T-Toriel..."

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Toriel said hurriedly, realizing she must've embarrassed him. "I just, I've been waiting so long to meet you, and it's been so long since I've been outside the Ruins, and you're just so small..."

Sans didn't stop smiling (and Frisk wasn't sure he could stop smiling, being a skeleton and all), but his expression seemed a little uncomfortable and he rubbed the back of his skull awkwardly. "It's good to meet you too." He turned to Frisk. "Heya kid, how're you doing?"

Frisk wrung his hands shyly, trying to muster up something to say, but as they did half the time, words didn't feel like coming to him. So instead he offered a simple thumbs up.

"I must admit I did not plan for what to do after exiting the Ruins very well," Toriel said after a moment. "Remind me--is there an inn in Snowdin?" She giggled slightly at the repetition in her words.

"Uh, yeah, right on the main drag," Sans informed her. "But you're also welcome to stay with me and Pap if you need a place. We don't have a whole lot of room, but eh, figured I'd offer."

Toriel considered for a moment. "I do not know how long I can afford to stay at an inn," she mused aloud. Frisk was never sure how much money Toriel had--it was a mystery to him where she got all their supplies or whether or not she had to pay for them. "Is it really okay if we take you up on your offer?"

"Of course, otherwise I wouldn't've said anything. We only have two bedrooms, but me and my bro can share. We'll have to move some stuff around though."

"Thank you, Sans," Toriel said, beaming brightly. "I did not realize how much I really missed the rest of the Underground."

"Let's get going, then," Sans said. Toriel bent to pick up her and Frisk's bags, which she had dropped in her excitement of meeting her friend for the first time. "Nah, I got it." Sans's left eye suddenly flared cyan, the same light engulfing his hand and the luggage. He gestured upward and the bags floated slightly off the ground. Frisk's jaw dropped. He's never seen somebody use telekinesis before, strangely enough with all the other magic he'd seen. "Close your mouth, kid. You'll catch flies."

Snowdin was a small town, but it was cozy and carried a warm feeling despite seemingly impossible snow coating the ground. Curious but not entirely unfriendly looks were given to the three of them as they passed, though most monsters seemed to recognize Sans, offering him a greeting before returning to whatever they were doing. Frisk was more excited than he'd been in a ridiculously long time. Seeing all these new monsters, strange faces--it filled him with determination.

They stopped in front of a medium sized two story house decorated with Christmas lights. Frisk hadn't seen Christmas lights in FOREVER. He was extremely pleased to be informed that this was where Sans lived, along with his brother Papyrus.

"What a charming house!" Toriel exclaimed.

"Thanks. It's pretty _homely_ if you ask me," Sans said. "Anyway, my bro's probably not here right now, so we'll just--aw geez never mind."

"SANS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING ALL THE WAY OVER HERE?" a significantly taller and thinner skeleton in a bizarre outfit shouted as he stormed towards them. "PLEASE DON'T TELL ME YOU TOOK ANOTHER GRILLBY'S BREAK."

"Bro, chillax, I've gotten a ton of work done today."

"SANS FOR THE LOVE OF--"

"A skele- _ton_."

"YOU USE THAT ONE ON A DAILY BASIS." Toriel laughed slightly, but Frisk was with Sans's brother on this one. This was a really, really bad joke. Like, worse than the low-caliber humor Frisk was used to.

Papyrus suddenly stopped in his tracks, snow scuffling up comedically in his wake. "WAIT, SANS, IS THAT WHAT I THINK IT IS?"

"Depends on what you think it is."

"A BEARDLESS CLONE OF ASGORE?"

Frisk honestly thought all hell was about to break loose, so many facial expressions were being made. Frisk bore a face of "shots fired," Sans looked like he was trying not to laugh hysterically, Toriel looked like she wasn't sure how to respond to this, and Papyrus didn't look like he was actually trying to be rude. He was legitimately asking this question and expecting a legitimate answer.

Thankfully, Toriel laughed. Frisk thought maybe it was a laugh of confusion or an intentional laugh to change the subject, but Frisk was grateful for it. "You must… be Papyrus," she said through her hysteria. "No… I'm Toriel… Asgore is my… Ex husband…" She actually couldn't seem to stop laughing now. It was her only way to handle the situation.

"OH," Papyrus said, looking confused for a moment. "WAIT, THEN…! THEN THIS IS THE HUMAN! BROTHER! HOW DID YOU MANAGE THIS?"

"I can't always be a lazy bones," Sans said with a shrug. "That and I didn't have to do anything other than have a conversation, so…"

Papyrus was already off of that, leaning down to shake Frisk's hand. Frisk thought he was going to lose an arm--this skeleton was soooooo much more enthusiastic than Sans. "WOWIE! A REAL HUMAN! I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS. USUALLY I WOULD TRY TO CAPTURE YOU RIGHT NOW BUT I GUESS THAT'S NOT MY JOB ANYMORE?"

"N-nice to meet you," Frisk stammered.

"SANS, WHERE WILL THE LADY ASGORE AND THE HUMAN BE STAYING?"

"Uh… Well, I kinda offered to let them stay with us?"

"SPLENDID! THE GREAT PAPYRUS SHALL GET RIGHT TO WORK ON CELEBRATORY SPAGHETTI!" And with that, he stormed into the house, leaving the door swinging wide behind him.

"Huh," Sans said. "That worked out pretty well."

 _A/N: Sorry, that was kind of short but I dunno, more soon! Thanks again for the positive reviews!_


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